Using Counterpoint in Guitar

What is counterpoint? It is basically 2 lines of melody moving in opposite directions. (One melody moves up in steps while the melody moves down) Learning how to apply counterpoint in guitar playing can really enhance the sound flavour and fun when you play or jam around with more than 1 guitarists.

The are a couple of rules to follow to avoid playing music that sounds clashy. Learn the proper use of counterpoint in your guitar playing and explore the creative ideas that might arise from improvising.

In Kris's video, he uses song in the metal genre to explain how artists use counterpoint in guitar playing to add more flavour in the song.

While counterpoint is a fairly advanced concept in guitar playing, I highly suggest you to read up on essential music theory such as understanding the relationships between intervals and scales prior to tackling it.

Typically, counterpoints are found in classical music with 3 or 4 musical lines that seem to sound like a single part. The relationships and musical ideas are much easier to be conveyed in a "clean" guitar environment.

You might also want to study the use of counterpoints in various styles of music to get a feel of how they can be applied and to implement your own ideas into your playing. When you do this, it helps you apprecia and understand the underlying workings of what you are playing and in that sense, make you a better musician.

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